Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. I move the Commission's budget motion for 2018-19 and ask that it be incorporated into the annual budget motion.

The budget for 2018-19, the third year of this fifth Assembly, is a budget—. In that budget, the Commission is seeking £56.1 million, and it's made up of three components: £35.5 million for Commission services; £16.2 for the remuneration board's determination; and £4.4 million for non-cash budgets. This budget will ensure that the Commission can address the challenges that face the Assembly imminently and in the longer term, and properly support the delivery of our strategic goals, while being mindful of the wider public sector financial position.

The Commission exists to support the Assembly and Assembly Members, and we recognise that the pressures on Assembly Members are greater than ever, with a demanding range of work for committees and Plenary, intensified by further constitutional change, tax-raising powers and managing the exit from the EU. The legislative, financial and scrutiny responsibilities of our very small number of elected Members—there are just 44 of us, or maybe 46, who are able to do this work—are unique and paramount, so it is critical that we maintain the delivery of excellent services to support Members as you discharge those responsibilities.

It's not just the immediate pressures. The Llywydd has set out the Commission's plans to make our Parliament fit for the future, giving young people a voice in our democracy, communicating effectively with the public, and fulfilling our statutory duty to enable the Assembly to undertake its legislative and scrutiny work, including taking forward work to address the capacity of the Assembly. 

Wales needs good government, and good government can only be delivered when it is improved, scrutinised and held to account by an effective parliament. We have new legislative powers in this area. The Commission must do what's necessary to equip this Parliament with the capacity to deliver a strong and sustainable democracy. As you will appreciate, this work is only just beginning. As we move forward, the Commission will continue to consider the budget implications and come back to the Assembly for your scrutiny by the Finance Committee, this annual debate, and subsequently through Public Accounts Committee and any other forms that are reasonable and suggested to us.

Returning to the budget we're considering today, I would like to thank the Finance Committee for its scrutiny. As a publicly funded organisation, the Commission must consistently demonstrate that it uses resources efficiently and effectively. The committee's scrutiny is an important part of that, so we approach the process with the aim of being clear, open and transparent, and that scrutiny helps the Commission get better at meeting that aim.

The committee made 10 recommendations, all of which we addressed positively in our response. In our budget strategy, we provided indicative figures for the remainder of this fifth Assembly. The strategy, published in 2016, set the context for the commission's budget for the remaining years of the fifth Assembly. The commission, having reviewed and further scrutinised this strategy, agrees that it is still justified. But it also recognises that, in the remaining years of this Assembly, the commission's budget should not be in excess of any changes to the Welsh block grant. The commission accepts that any future budget request must be proportionate to the changes in the Welsh block, and, indeed, has sought to maintain such proportionality in previous years, even at times of heightened ambition. In formulating future budget requests, the commission will need to take account of any variation in the Welsh block as a consequence of new tax-raising powers, and deal with proportionality, taking that into account.

The draft budget did include a request for a ring-fenced sum of money to be used for developing potential new accommodation needs, only to be drawn down if necessary. This is in line with improving transparency and advising the Assembly of any high-cost decisions that might, but not definitely, arise in the forthcoming year. Two of the Finance Committee recommendations relate to this issue, and the committee has asked instead that we submit a supplementary budget to separately present the case for any such investment, should the commission determine that we wish to pursue this. The recommendations are agreed, and we have amended our budget accordingly.

Three of the recommendations are linked to commission staff resources, information has been requested about the increase in staff numbers over the past 10 years, and on benchmarking against other legislatures. A recommendation was made that there should be no change to the number of full-time equivalent posts in the Assembly in 2018-19. Going forward, within the agreed established ceiling, the commission will endeavour to maintain effective levels of service in support of Members and public engagement. And, to help with that, the commission is currently undertaking a capacity review—an exercise that began in mid September—and the committee has requested to see the results of that exercise in a formal paper, which we have agreed.

Three other recommendations referred to the budget approach to prioritisation under transparency, and we agreed those as well.

So, finally, I want to assure Members that we will continue to work in a way that delivers value for money, and to strive to be as efficient as possible, whilst providing all Members with a high-quality service to support us all, effectively, in our roles.

Thank you.